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Friday, March 21, 2014

Muppets Most Wanted

Review by Pete Roche

One
really couldn’t have wanted for a better Muppets reboot than 2011’s THE
MUPPETS.Over a decade had passed since
Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and the rest of the gang headlined a major motion
picture, so—some thirty-five years after the debut of The Muppet Show (1976) on
television and release of THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979) in theatres—it was
questionable whether Jim Henson’s felt-skinned friends could still fire our
imaginations and tickle our funny bones.

Writer
/ star Jason Segel (I LOVE YOU, MAN) cleverly addressed the Muppets’ relative
post-millennial obscurity for their new Disney keepers by setting his human
character’s half-pint brother—Walter the Whistler—after Kermit and company in a
bid to save their historic studio from a greedy oil tycoon.The resulting romp packed ample pep for young
audiences but was also nostalgic (and smart) enough for parents who grew up
watching the show and early films.The
musical numbers were catchy, the gags funny, and the whole “let’s get the gang
together again” story sufficiently heartwarming for all.

So
how could Disney top Segel’s reunion picture?

Director
James Bobin returns with MUPPETS MOST WANTED, a campy catch-up flick that
tickles in all the right spots whilst nudging the overall Muppets saga that
much further into the future.Voiced predominantly
by Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, and Dave Goelz instead of creators Jim Henson
(deceased) and Frank Oz (retired), these may not be our Muppets—but they look and sound damn near the same.

The
premise is recycled:Bobin and his
writers rely on the old “mistaken identity / evil twins” trope, threading it
through a fairly standard heist storyline.Muppet filmmakers already used the “amnesia” gimmick in THE MUPPETS TAKE
MANHATTAN (1984) and had Kermit unravel a jewel-snatching in THE GREAT MUPPET
CAPER (1982), so it’s not as if the frog hasn’t already made a little magic
from tired TV sitcom formulae.Remarkably, Bobin’s hodgepodge hits home again.

MOST
WANTED picks up right where THE MUPPETS left off.Kermit, Piggy, and the ensemble are still
gathered in the street outside their theatre after that film’s climactic
telethon.Villain Tex Richman is gone,
as are Gary (Segel) and Mary (Adams)—who’ve presumably run off to tie the
knot.Unsure how to capitalize on their
victory, the Muppets break the fourth wall by launching into opening musical
number “They’ve Ordered a Sequel,” during which the characters toss around ideas—for
both their theatre troupe and this latest cinema installment.It’s a perfect way to reconnect with everyone
in the bunch, even if one of them admits during his verse that, “sequels are
never quite as good.”

Continuing
the long tradition of shoehorning celebrity cameos into their adventures, The
Muppets once again trot out some superstar guests (like ‘em or not): Tony
Bennett, Lady Gaga, and Usher pop up early on.R&B singer Usher appears later as…well, an usher.Zach Galifianakis returns as “Hobo Joe.”Celine Dion plays Miss Piggy’s fairy
godmother / romance consultant, and Frank Langella plays a priest.

Confused
by the array of goofy concepts presented, Kermit is easily talked into staging
a world tour by Machiavellian agent Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais).The Muppets are ecstatic—but they don’t know
their new rep has booked major shows in big cities like Paris, Berlin, Madrid,
and Dublin just so he can knock over nearby museums for artifacts once owned by
the legendary Captain Thomas Blood.Whoever holds all the pieces can disable the security system at London
Tower and make off with England’s royal crown.

But
Dominic’s not acting alone.In fact,
he’s merely the “No. 2” heavy to international terrorist / Kermit clone
Constantine, who handily escapes from a Siberian prison and replaces the main
Muppet in order to guarantee a trouble-free tour—and ripe robberies.Only scent-savvy Animal spots the duplicity
when Kermit is frog-napped and transported to the Gulag to supplant AWOL
Constantine, but no pays mind to The Electric Mayhem’s mangy drummer.

“You
can’t do this to me!” Kermit argues with authorities.“I’m an amphibian American!”

Warden
Nadya (Tina Fey) says she doesn’t buy Kermit’s switcheroo story but secretly
knows the truth.In fact, she’s a
diehard Kermit fan who coerces her special guest to produce the prison play—which
stars Ray Liotta, Jemaine Clement, and Danny Trejo.Stanley Tucci cameos as a watchtower
guard.Singer Josh Grobin makes a late
appearance as an inmate, as does THOR baddie Tom Hiddleston—whose own escape
attempt comes to a shocking end.

Back
in civilization, no-nonsense CIA operative Sam the Eagle and daft French
INTERPOL agent Jean-Pierre Napoleon (Ty Burrell) form an odd couple detective
duo.Sam’s determined to nab the thieves
behind the heists, but Jean-Pierre takes a more relaxed approach—and thinks
nothing of setting aside warm clues for a hot lunch.A hilarious “Interrogation Song” ensues after
brooding, thick-browed Sam notices that the robberies coincide with the times
and locations of Muppets shows.But Sam
and Jean-Pierre conclude that the motley crew is “incapable of being culpable”following
a round of rigorous, rhymed questioning that spotlights each Muppet’s
eccentricity.

Scooter,
Fozzie, Piggy and friends hear a change in their leader’s voice, but
Constantine keeps them in check by saying he’s got a cold.Dominic advises the “bad frog” to play nice
and brush up on Kermit’s speech and mannerisms to help maintain the
illusion.Constantine thinks he’s got
everything under control but reluctantly acquiesces, and we catch a snippet of
“Rainbow Connection” during his review (and mockery) of vintage Muppet Show
episodes on tape.The crook also does an
about-face with Ms. Piggy, throwing his charm into overdrive after initially
brushing off the doting diva sow.Constantine’s
efforts to “keep the pig happy” result in another sidesplitting song (the
disco-themed “I’ll Get You Want You Want”), but the false frog’s zeal soon puts
Piggy on high alert:Her “Kermie” was always
reticent about their romance.

On
set, Gonzo the Great’s latest stunt involves an “indoor running of the
bulls.”Animal indulges in a ten-minute
drum solo during a protracted Mayhem jam.Pyromaniac Crazy Harry takes his bomb fetish to new levels.Pepe the King Prawn reverts to his old
fish-throwing habits.Swedish Chef concocts
succulent—but unintelligibly pronounced—new dishes.In Madrid, the show theme is rendered en Espanol and Ms. Piggy does the
Macarena with flamingoes.Dr. Benson
Honeydew tests a “magnetic bomb vest” on hapless assistant Beaker.And all the Muppet cacophony provides perfect
cover for Constantine and Dominic as they blast, dig, and drill through
cinderblock walls and steel vaults.

No
self-respecting “mistaken identity” spoof works without a climactic
confrontation between the doppelgangers, and capers lack tension without
deadlines (or detonations).Accordingly,
The Muppets strategize to break Kermit out of prison and turn tables on
Constantine—who holds London Tower hostage with a customized explosive—and our
hero has to hustle to keep a wedding date he thought he never wanted.

It’s
still not easy being green.

Commendably,
Bobin gives longstanding peripheral Muppets more camera time on this
outing:Beauregard the Janitor becomes
engineer on The Muppets’ traveling train; Electric Mayhem bassist Sgt. Floyd
Pepper has lots of groovy dialogue; fang-faced, 9-foot tall brown ogre Sweetums
gets a dance number; former Tex Richman cronies Bobo the Bear and Uncle Deadly
the Dragon share a moment; even those cutesy-pie infants in Bobby Benson’s Baby
Band show up in the third act.Heckler
curmudgeons Statler and Waldorf are still alive and in rare form:When they spot a German advertisement for “Die
Muppets” outside a Berlin concert hall, they take it for a suggestion box.

Gervais
makes an effective (tap-dancing) crook, Burrell does an admirable “Inspector Clouseau”
impersonation, and Fey—while no Amy Adams—rocks a Russian military uniform and
gets a song of her own, too.It’s all
very lighthearted, fun, and moves more briskly than its 113-minute running time
would suggest.2
½ out of 3 stars